Nosferatu the Vampyre Literary Elements

Werner Herzog

Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor

Walter Ladengast, Dan van Husen, Martje Grohmann, Carsten Bodinus, Rijk de Gooyer, Clemens Scheitz, Tim Beekman, John Leddy

Horror

Film Available in 3 Languages: German (Original), English, Romanian

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Beste darstellerische Leistung - Männliche Hauptrolle) Klaus Kinski , Winner NBR Award (Top Foreign Films), Best Performance in a Foreign Film (Mejor Interpretación en Película Extranjera) Klaus Kinski For Woyzeck

17 January 1979 (France)

Michael Gruskoff and Werner Herzog

Wismar, Germany, and Transylvania (Before the advent of the car)

The movie takes place in 3rd person omniscient as we see both Lucy and Jonathan's points of views in addition to the occasional Count's point of view.
We can also see all parts of the movie as it unfolds (the ship's writer writing etc.).

The tone throughout the movie is ominous with streaks of dreams hinting at the vampire and plague filled future.
After Jonathan is locked in the castle, however, we see the only break from sadness to vengeance and then back to sadness.

The Protagonists are Jonathan and Lucy, until the end of the movie where Jonathan becomes an antagonist

The major conflict in the story is the stubbornness of Jonathan to not believe what he reads or is told in favor of his own belief. The idea of faith, which Lucy mentions at the end of the story, drives men to believe what they don't see with their own eyes. In this case, it is the rise of Count Dracula and the plague and the reluctance of the townspeople (and Jonathan).

The climax in the movie is the point where Lucy allows Nosferatu to drink her blood so that she can trick him into staying in the daylight and "missing the cock's first call".

Foreshadowing is seen throughout the movie especially in the forms of dreams. Lucy's dreams tell the story before it even is told and Jonathan's dreams show exactly what is happening in the Count's mind. In addition to this, the bats shown at the beginning of the movie hint at the entrance of vampires.

"I don't attach importance to sunlight anymore" This statement made by Nosferatu at 42:08 means much more than it seems. The sunlight kills the vampire, so he hates the sunlight, let alone feels it important.

"I see something horrible..." This is what Lucy says but a plague that ravages a city and a vampire that turns her husband and kills her is much more than horrible.

The filming of this movie focused less on the ideas of plot and focused more on scenery and imagery. In fact, the director Werner Herzog wanted everything to look so real he personally asked many city councilmen if he could release 11,000 rats just for 45 minutes of the film. The film, trying to copy the silent film earlier published, focuses less on dialogue.

There are many biblical references such as "The Consecrated Host bars his retreat." This is when Lucy takes the communion bread and encircles Jonathan in it to stop his vampirism. There are other references to lore such as werewolfism.

The story details a woman that is not fond of superstition and yet she is told by Van Helsing who believes only in what he knows and "science". Since the latter turns out to be wrong, we see his quote "Everything has a right time and place." take action as there was no reason to stab the count and for that he goes to "prison",

Prison is also a paradox as it is unguarded and solitary, probably being the safest place to be.

There is unique parallelism in Lucy's ability to see beyond what is in her sight and the Count's ability to do so.